“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
When Moses received revelation that a Tabernacle was to be built so that the Lord might dwell among His people, he invited “every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.”
“And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.” (Exodus 35:21-22).
I think there are two really beautiful things about these offerings that the children of Israel gave for the construction of the Tabernacle.
One, this was a chance for redemption. When Moses had climbed up Mount Sinai and the people felt lost and confused and impatient and tired of waiting on the Lord and his timing, they offered up to Aaron their earrings and their jewels of gold so that that might make a false idol to be their god. Now, they were being given a much worthier purpose. Now, instead of remembering every time they saw a glint of gold how they had abandoned God, they could look at the Ark of the Covenant and all of the finery of the Tabernacle and remember that when the Lord had asked for the offerings of a willing heart, they had chosen to put their faith in the one true and living God.
The second reason that I find this offering so beautiful is that the children of Israel were about to spend forty years wandering in the desert. Did they really want to spend all of those endless days of walking through the dry heat laden down with the weight of all of their gold and silver and precious things? When they were fighting for their lives just to get water or something to eat, did they really want to also have to be worrying about thieves and bandits?
By giving up their wealth, they not only made their fine things sacred and holy by adding them to the Tabernacle, they also relieved themselves of a great burden. Now it would be the priests and the Levites lugging around all that heavy gold and finery.
When Jesus told the rich young man that he ought to sell all that he had and give it to the poor and follow Him, perhaps part of the reason He gave that commandant was out of concern for the corrupting influence that the love of money might have on his soul. But maybe part of the reason was purely practical. Jesus’s followers traveled without purse or scrip and knew not where they would lay their head. If this young man truly wanted to follow Jesus, he couldn't have the burden of all of that wealth weighing him down or holding him back.
There is nothing wrong with us striving to achieve material wealth and success in this life. But if we are going to be wandering through a desert for an extended period of time, maybe we don't want to be carrying around a bunch of gold with us.
When the Lord asks us to sacrifice something that we hold dear, maybe He cares more about our comfort and lightening our load than He cares about us trying to prove our loyalty to Him. We can't always see the full purpose behind some of the things that God asks us to do, but we can have faith that whatever that purpose includes, the biggest part of it is making our lives better and freer and holier.
